Summer Antics
by Amerachan
Summary: Summer may be a cruel mistress, but there's still fun to be had! Rated for Kyou's language, Shigure's Pervertedness and Haru's being blunt about perversion


Summer Antics

Summer was a cruel mistress. Indeed, it had bore down on the unconditioned Sohma house with a ferocity previous unheard of by its inhabitants. Having eaten a breakfast fit for the king of a small country, made by the lovely young Honda Tohru, Shigure now sat in his study, as he had been for the past few days except for mealtime and bathing. He had a deadline coming up, and if he didn't meet it, his editor was sure to do something drastic. It was true that he enjoyed antagonizing her, but he always had a small fear in the back of his mind that she would actually kill herself because of him one day.

The small fan he had purchased two years ago for his office whirred noisily as it blew lukewarm air at his face and torso. Two years must be the equivalent of eighty years for fans, because it didn't work as well as he remembered it working just last year. Maybe it was time to get a new one... Several fans networked the house in rooms that were deemed important for having one. The dining room and kitchen, for example each had a small rotating fan, as did each of the bedrooms. Rooms that were not so fortunate were the guest bedrooms, the hallways and the bathroom. Currently, Shigure's room didn't have one either, since money was short, and he had had to result to carrying the one from his room into his office.

The lack of additional cooling devices proved to be an inconvenience three days ago, when Haru arrived with a bag over his shoulder, asking if he could stay for a while. To Shigure, it was a pleasure to have someone in the house besides Kyou who could stir things up and make them interesting, since Haru seemed to enjoy bothering everyone in some way or another. He also kept in mind, however, that if the teen went 'black,' things would get really messy. Especially since Black Haru not only enjoyed breaking things and getting in fights, but also because he seemed to like molesting poor Tohru, or so he was told.

When night came on Haru's first night over, the temperature was still about thirty-seven degrees Celsius, which, in western terms, was about ninety-eight degrees Fahrenheit, which required heat-relief. Since the guest bedroom did not have anything of the sort, the question of where Haru would sleep arose. Tohru instantly offered to let Haru have the fan in her room, but Shigure dismissed it immediately.

"Women should not have to give up comfort," Shigure had stated with a kind smile. "Especially since they are far more delicate and should have the opportunity to be comfortable. Besides, you should not have to give up anything, especially to a man, and a man that would insist that you do so should not be allowed in your presence."

"Shigure-san... That's so kind!" Tohru had exclaimed, hands up to her cheeks to hide her blush.

Shigure had only grinned, imagining Tohru in a maid's dress one day, one of the short and tight ones that...

As a final solution, it was decided that Haru would stay in Yuki's room, which, when Shigure really thought about it, was probably a bad idea, since Haru liked to molest Yuki on a regular basis, Black or not. Then again, Kyou had blatantly refused to let Haru stay in his room, so there was no other choice.

When all that was settled and Shigure had thought that everything was great and wonderful, there was another knock on the door, and before he knew it, Momiji was asking if he could stay as well. Apparently, he had followed Haru all the way here. With a sigh, Shigure allowed the extra guest, and it was soon decided that he would stay in Tohru's room, at the insistence of both parties.

That was, of course, three days ago, and things had been hectic since then. Momiji wanted to do nothing much other than play, and Tohru was often caught between complying with his wishes and doing the housework. Kyou got angry at him when the young Sohma member tried to distract Tohru, and he sometimes hit him in the head or dragged him outside. Haru was particularly calm and mellow, which worried Shigure to a certain extent, but he cast it aside.

Now, as he worked on his newest novel, he leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"There are times when I wonder why I do this kind of stuff..." he mumbled to himself, rubbing his temples. "It seems that all I do is work and work, only to be criticized by my editor, and no one seems to appreciate all the hard work I do."

Exhaling heavily, he stood and stretched, and then walked to the door, opening it. Looking down the hallway, he saw Tohru dusting, with Momiji following her around, telling her stories about what happened in school or some other thing he thought she would enjoy. The young, hardworking girl was obviously busy, but she still smiled and laughed and listened to his stories. With a smile, he walked out and put a hand on Momiji's shoulder to stop him from talking.

"Tohru, how about you take a break and we all go out for lunch, hmm?"

She stopped to look at him for a long moment, and then smiled.

"Ok, Shigure-san!"

He could not have helped but smile. It was not only because he enjoyed seeing a smile on the young girl's face, but once again, his mind formed images of Tohru in another maid's outfit, this time, that of a French maid, what with the little lacy tiara thing in her hair, high heeled shoes with straps snaking their way up her long legs. The dress itself was short, barely passing her thighs with frills and ruffles accentuating the finer parts of her body and... He would have to speak to Ayame about such an outfit.

* * *

Soon, the Sohmas and Tohru were at a small restaurant, reading menus. It wasn't an elegant and expensive place, but it was better than having the young girl cook again, since she was really the only one who could. When it came time to order, Haru ordered more than any human boy should, or so Shigure thought. With a reluctant sigh, he allowed it, though, and as they waited for their meal (or meals in Haru's case), they talked about school and work and summer plans and whatnot. Suddenly, Kyou leaned back in his chair with a groan.

"Just how long do you plan on staying with us, anyway, Haru? It's been...what? Three days? Four days? Isn't that a little long when you ask to stay 'for a while?'"

"Actually, I ran away from home," Haru said nonchalantly, taking a sip of his tea shortly after.

"Ran away?" Tohru asked, fear creeping into her voice.

"That's right. I got sick and tired of their crap, always beating me and yelling at me and locking me in the closet and not feeding me for days. I had to sell my mom's flower leaves as faux drugs so that I could make money to buy food."

"Cut the crap, Haru!" Kyou objected, slamming his palms on the table, leaning towards Haru.

"There isn't a bruise on you," Yuki calmly pointed out, sipping his own tea, now.

Haru stopped for a long moment as though he realized the flaw in his story, and then shrugged.

"I'll admit that it has been a while since they beat up on me, but..."

"Shut up already! You're just screwing around, trying to get us all riled up and shit!" Kyou screamed. "No one believes your stupid stories, so quit it!"

Haru blinked as though surprised and sighed.

"What about you, Momiji? How long are you going to stay for?" Yuki asked calmly.

"As long as Haru does!" Momiji proudly proclaimed as though victorious.

"Hell no!" Kyou objected. "You're both way too annoying! Between Haru and his going Black at random moments and Momiji with his games, squeaky laughter and candy! I can't stand so much contrast!"

"So, just why did you come, anyway, Haru?" Shigure asked whilst Kyou ranted his head off about how much he didn't want extra people in the house anymore.

"I didn't lie when I said that I ran away from home," Haru said. Shigure couldn't tell if the teen was still joking or not, because he kept the same face, humourous or not. "Momiji and I both did. We couldn't take it anymore. It's Akito, he's going off the deep end, and taking it out on anyone he can find. We decided that if we came here, we could be safe."

"You mean, you came because you wanted Momiji to be safe," Shigure corrected.

Haru nodded.

"He's so innocent, even though he's my age, he acts like an eight year-old. I couldn't stand it if Akito hurt him."

"What about Kisa and the other Sohmas?" Shigure asked.

"Luckily, Kisa's gone on a class trip for a while. It came around just in time. I don't know much about any of the others, but I do know that there's no way Hatori is going to be able to escape Akito's wrath. Being his doctor, he has to stay there the whole time, and so he can't just go away, you know?"

Shigure nodded grimly. It was times like these that he was glad that he lived 'outside.'

"Maybe I should call Hatori over for a few hours later, and a few drinks," Shigure pondered aloud.

As though the desire for forgetting about everything he had heard from Haru was understood by the waiters and cooks of the restaurant, several service people of the establishment arrived with the food, placing plates here and there upon the plate as the Sohmas and Tohru claimed their meals. The remainder of Haru's meals that would not fit on the table were placed on a standing tray next to him, to be selected upon his leisure.

* * *

After lunch, the Sohmas and Tohru walked back to the house in the blistering heat, and by the time they got there, they were all sweating. Walking in the front door, Haru took his shirt off.

"What the hell are you doing!" Kyou demanded, nearly screeching the question.

"It's too hot for clothes," Haru said as though this was the only possible reason for not wearing a shirt. "I should take off the rest of my clothes, but Momiji is far too innocent for that."

"It's not Momiji that I'm worried about! Tohru shouldn't have to see you walking around naked! She's a girl for one, and for two, it's indecent, no matter where you are!"

"You mean she hasn't seen you naked?" Haru asked, sounding as though he could not believe such a thing could possibly be true.

"Of course not!"

"Why not? Don't you love her?"

"I...what kind of question is that!"

As though convenience was something that came natural to her, Tohru was walking past the two boys at the precise moment that Kyou finished speaking. Haru would not let this go, however, and he wrapped his arm around the young girl and turned her to face Kyou.

"Would you like to see him naked?" he asked bluntly. His facial expression was not that of humour or malice or pure curiosity. It was blank, not showing his true intentions at all.

"Wh-wh-what?" Tohru stammered, a deep blush blossoming on her cheeks.

"Don't ask her that!" Yuki happened to be the unfortunate defender of Tohru this time.

"Or maybe you prefer Yuki? Come on, admit it. You know that we both want to see him naked."

"Don't talk like that!" Kyou bellowed, launching to attack Haru. However, he swiftly put Tohru in the way, and before the cat-possessed Sohma knew what had happened, he had transformed.

As the ruckus echoed and vibrated through the hallway, Shigure rubbed his eyelids with his fingers, trying to rub the sleepiness and stress from this.

"Just why is it that I put up with all this again?" he asked his study. A poorly drawn picture of a maid's outfit sat next to his computer, and he smiled. "Oh yeah. That's why..."

Haru and Momiji would stay for a few more weeks that summer, and it was both full of excitement, and something to remember, and Shigure would always remember the call to Ayame.


End file.
